FEATURE: Long distance legend Brian Hygate

Another season finished, and another couple of age-related records in the bag for Hampshire long-distance legend Brian Hygate.
Now 87 years young, the Fareham Wheelers rider has hung up his wheels for 2025 but is already planning his 2026 adventures.
We caught up with Hygate to find out how he feels about his 2025 achievements.
“My Whizzy Wheels are now hung up until 2026!” said Hygate, who set new age records this year in the VTTA National 12-Hour Championship and the VTTA National 24-Hour Championship.
With age comes wisdom, but that’s no protection from harsh conditions and bad luck. But after failing to finish his last two 24-hour rides Hygate finally managed to complete this year’s effort and put his name in the history books once again.
“This year was my third attempt to finish a 24 in the last three years,” he explained. “The first attempt I didn’t finish due to torrential rain and cold.
“Last year I attacked the event in the same way that I did back in my 30-year-old prime and rode myself into a state of collapse after 17 hours and it was a second DNF.
“This year my daughter, an ultra-marathon runner, took charge and wrote out my schedule, demanding that I act my age and stop for a proper rest period at night!
“So I actually stopped for four hours overnight, then rode out my 24 hours with 258.88 miles. This was less than I had hoped for, but I was pleased that, at 87, I had finished the full 24 hours and set a vet's record.”
It was a distance that many younger riders would’ve been pleased with, but Hygate sets the bar high when it comes to personal targets.
Fast forward to the VTTA National 12-Hour Championship – the Welsh CA event – and once again he was disappointed despite setting a new record.
Hygate continued: “Last year I set a decent distance of 192 miles, and I knew that if I could repeat that this year it would put me well up in the veterans results.
“But with a niggling south westerly breeze the conditions didn't suit less powerful riders.
“At no time during the event could I equal last year's ride, but with 90 minutes to run I was looking at a finishing distance of 177 miles.
“However, the heavens opened and riders were treated to driving, heavy rain. In a matter of a minute or so, I was drenched and my temperature was dropping alarmingly.
“I managed to limp around the finishing circuit to find my helpers where I stopped at 169 miles. Disappointed, but at least I had completed it and set a new record for an 87-year-old.”
Hygate now has to prioritise which events he enters as he no longer drives a car, but this hasn’t stopped him competing in quite a few local events throughout 2025.
“I rather liked the idea of riding the Poole Wheelers 25 as the course is a good one, on roads which I competed on many years ago.
“It entailed a train journey and a hotel booking, but: what the heck; Let's just do it! After a good sleep in the pub at Lytchett Minster, I presented myself to the timekeeper on a still and mild morning.
“After a brisk, but not too demanding ride, I was pleasantly surprised to finish with 1.18.48, which was sufficient to give me a Wessex VTTA 87-year-old record. Not a bad start to the year, but at an expense of £98 for travel and expenses I would have to think about my priorities!
“Fareham Wheelers run a series of evening 10s and has a season-long category for aggregate times of veterans on standard. After three of these events, it became apparent that I, as the oldest vet in my club, was neck and neck with the youngest (40 years old) in the club.
“This state of affairs continued, with just a few seconds between us right up to the last event, before which we were dead level!
“I don't think I have ever pushed myself so hard before in a 10! And I finally won the club veterans’ series by 14 seconds with a recent PB!
“If nothing else, it shows how the veterans standard system really does encourage a level playing field for all ages.”